In addition to addressing the weaknesses, I would address the timing of the project and my focus differently. With many other professional doctorate students, I found it challenging to create the large pockets of time needed to devote to completing this project. The weekly challenge of consistent personal spiritual disciplines, being a husband and father of five children ranging in ages from twenty-two to five years old (including God’s provision in adding the youngest member to our family through an unexpected and unusual foster care arrangement during the course of this project), the campus and teaching pastor of a growing congregation, and an executive-level leader overseeing three
congregations put demands on my time and energy that I had not experienced before beginning the program. While every student has their story, the COVID-19 pandemic created the most unusual and challenging leadership climate of my lifetime. At first I thought I would have additional time to work on this project. However, the nature of the virus meant that every decision had to be considered and re-considered, and I found myself
8 Will Mancini, Church Unique: How Missional Leaders Cast Vision, Capture Culture, and Create Movement (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2008), 10-13.
spending twice the time simply to accomplish everyday tasks. Not only was timing an issue for me, but focus was a challenge as well. While I have never shied away from challenges or projects, I consistently saw time blocked out on my calendar taken by family needs, pastoral care crisis, or simply the demands of everyday ministry. As a result, I ended up in a cycle of “starting and stopping” on the project that prolonged completion. If I could “do it over again,” I would start when I was younger, more energetic, and when the demands on my time were a bit less heavy. However, I also believe in God’s sovereign timing as the one who declares the “end from the beginning” (Isa 46:10) and that I learned important life lessons about perseverance, focus, and commitment during this season.
Theological Reflections
The completion of this project has led to greater personal reflection and
appreciation for the nature of the church, the careful application of contextualization, and the importance of preaching. While the church today certainly faces great challenges with the increased secularization of culture and mounting pressure to silence biblical truth, the true church remains God’s Spirit-filled community of believers confessing Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the living God and the “gates of Hades will not overpower it” (Matt 16:19). Within biblical boundaries, the church in every age has adapted its methods without changing its core message (kerygma) in order for proper contextualization to take place.
The Word of God must be made intelligible to edify (1 Cor 9:19-23; 14:22-25).9 This project challenged me to look deeper into the nature of the church and the roots of the multi-site movement to ensure that Brentwood Baptist had not adopted a model that was merely pragmatic.
While the normative principle applies (the church is free to incorporate any and all elements in its worship unless Scripture explicitly or implicitly prohibits them),
9 Hellerman, “The Dangerous Disconnect.”
this project affirmed that there is indeed biblical precedent for early churches existing as one church meeting in multiple locations. In the New Testament, the gathering of believers is referred to as the ekklesia, but that term can also be translated in ways other than
“assembly.” It is used to refer to a meeting of early believers in a home (Acts 12:12), the church in a city (1 Cor 1:1-2), all the churches in a region (Acts 9:31), the universal church (Eph 1:21-23), and even of all the saints already in heaven (Heb 12:23). The church in Jerusalem gathered in both the temple courts and in homes (Acts 2:42-46) and yet was considered “one church.” Critics of multi-site contend that the model is unbiblical because it is not an assembly of all the members of the church. Scripture reveals this is a faulty premise drawn from an overly narrow ecclesiological position that may be preference for some but is not a biblical mandate for all.10 While not all churches are called to be multi- site, it is a movement that God is using in our generation not just in the US but globally as well where networks of “underground” house churches function together when and where possible under one larger unifying structure with qualified biblical leadership. This study again led me to marvel at the amazing ability that God has given his church to adapt without compromise to get the gospel to more people. Multi-site church ministry maintains a high view of both Scripture and the church, elevating the importance of the
“neighborhood mission” of the local church. Campuses are designed with the specific missional purpose to reach their community and reverses the trend that takes people out of their neighborhood to attend the megachurch thirty miles away. Not only does the multi- site models of ministry incorporate the growth God brings, but it can also wisely steward resources across multiple locations (such as many teaching pastors sharing the same research assistant) and multiply ministries and leadership. In an era in which the influence of the local church is waning, all these functions elevate the importance of the local church.
As John Stott declares in The Living Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor,
10 Brad House and Gregg Allison, Multi-Church (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2017), 40-41.
For the church lies at the very center of the eternal purpose of God. It is not a divine afterthought. It is not an accident of history. On the contrary, the church is God’s new community. For his purpose, conceived in a past eternity, being worked out in history, and to be perfected in a future eternity, is not to just save isolated
individuals and so perpetuate our loneliness, but rather to build his church, that is, to call out of the world a people for his own glory.11
Because it is God’s idea and plan, the church is worth living and dying for. Multi-site models of ministry nourish the theological values of unity, cooperation, contextualization, and independence that bring glory to God and health to the local church.
This project also renewed in my mind and heart the central importance of preaching in the local church. When there are vast physical, emotional, and spiritual needs to meet in the world, this project led me to step back and ask if it was really worth all this time and effort to develop, coordinate, align, and evaluate preaching across multiple congregations. I became deeply convinced that the answer is yes, because a healthy preaching team model elevates the proclamation of the gospel, which is and will remain people’s greatest need. John MacArthur spells out the impact of effective preaching: “True biblical preaching ought to be a life-changing endeavor. The conscientious preacher does not merely seek to impact abstract doctrine or plain facts to his people; he also pleads with them for their heartfelt and earnest obedience. After all, to be hearers of the Word without being doers is to be dangerously deceived (James 1:22).”12
God has sovereignly chosen to use the verbal proclamation of His Word to change lives. It is a humbling and awesome task to be entrusted with a sacred task such as preaching. Therefore, pastors should commit as much intentionality, time, focus, and resources to preaching as possible in order that the Word might be proclaimed and heard, and that it might bring about the gospel response that God planned and purposed. A preaching team model not only prioritizes the faithful preaching of Scripture, but it
11 John Stott, The Living Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2007), 19.
12 John MacArthur, foreword to Michael Fabarez, Preaching that Changes Lives (Nashville:
Thomas Nelson, 2002), vii.
creates a uniquely committed and called fraternity of brothers in Christ who walk together in that noble task. It reduces the risk of doctrinal error through accountability, increases the depth and richness of weekly sermon preparation by learning in a small learning community rather than isolated study, and serves as consistent source of encouragement for the continual challenges pastoral ministry brings (Heb 3:13). Time and effort are required to develop and align a team of preachers, invest in relationships, and manage different personality types. However, in the end it is worth it because a preaching team model brings glory to God by strengthening both the messenger and the message in order to advance the kingdom of God and fulfill the Great Commission.
Personal Reflections
As this project concludes and I prayerfully reflect on the journey of these past few years, the word that the Spirit continually brings to mind is gratitude. As the Psalmist declares, “I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all your wonderous deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High” (Ps 9:1-2). First and foremost, I am grateful to the Lord for the joy of my salvation, for His calling on my life, and for the opportunities for me to learn and grow that He has ordained. Growing up in a small Baptist church in a small community in south central Illinois, God has always given me a love for His Word and the local church. I could have never dreamed then of the opportunities He would place before me now, to preach His Word weekly, to get to walk with a team of fellow teaching pastors, and to further develop my calling through the professional doctorate program at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Second, I am grateful for the support I have received from my family who have been patient with me as husband and father during the long hours of reading, writing, and seminar work. When God calls a man, his family shares in that calling and I could not have completed this project, nor could I be successful in ministry, without the loving support of my wife, Tanya, and the understanding of our five children. I am thankful for a church
family and leadership that not only encourages its ministers to continue their theological education, but that supports that calling with both time and financial resources. Senior Pastor Mike Glenn and Senior Executive Pastor Stan Breeden have encouraged me to complete this program from day one.
Finally, I am grateful to the entire faculty and staff of the seminary who have encouraging and patient with me. I am especially thankful for Danny Bowen, who walked with me from the beginning of this project; and to my friend and partner in the gospel, Timothy Paul Jones, who was willing to help me see this project to completion with his very busy workload. One of the best parts of the program were my fellow classmates, who, coming from a wide variety of ministry backgrounds, were a joy to get to know personally, even as they enriched our time together in our coursework academically. As this project concludes, I cannot help but be drawn to the same emotions that led David, reflecting in God’s presence on his life, to compose these timeless words of praise and gratitude: “Who am I, Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me this far?” (2 Sam 7:18)
Conclusion
Over the course of fifty plus years, God has richly blessed Brentwood Baptist Church with the opportunity to declare and demonstrate the power of the gospel starting in the hills of suburban middle Tennessee through local church ministry and stretching to the ends of the earth through mission partnership. By God’s grace and through the
faithfulness of the body of Christ, Brentwood Baptist Church is the 72nd largest church in the US, also categorized as one of the “fastest” growing churches that is also
“reproducing.”13 Brentwood Baptist Church has never made it a goal to be on the list, but rather to be faithful to preach the gospel, reach the lost and searching, and minister to the community and world in the name of Jesus. To that end, the church has developed a multi-
13 Outreach100, “Largest Participating Churches Revisited,” accessed August 2, 2022, https://outreach100.com/largest-churches-in-america?page=4.
campus approach to ministry in order to continue to expand outreach while at the same time connect people to a healthy congregation in their community. One of the key developments to this approach has been the development of a preaching team model that utilizes the calling and gifts of eight campus and teaching pastors to declare the same gospel and share the same preaching plan, but to weekly contextual the message into their own community church. This project has for the first time documented the structure, values, and methodology of this preaching team approach. This project sought to improve the work of the preaching team by evaluating the weekly meeting for expectations, resourcing, and level of collaboration. It reviewed established preaching teams at other churches in order to mine knowledge, expertise, and creative thinking for improvement.
The project defined and documented the “points of excellence” for the clarity and benefit of the preaching team and for other churches who might like to learn from our experience.
Finally, the project created a sermon self-evaluation rubric for teaching pastors to use to increase the effectiveness of their preaching. My prayer is that God will use this project to improve the preaching team at Brentwood Baptist Church, its campuses, and other churches and networks and contribute to gospel response, greater biblical literacy, deeper disciple-making, and the call to ministry and mission until Christ returns or calls us home. Soli deo gloria!
APPENDIX 1
PREACHING TEAM SURVEY
The Brentwood Baptist Preaching Team Survey was created to collect feedback regarding the sermon research materials and the weekly preaching team meeting. This survey assessed the effectiveness of the preaching team in the areas of expectations, resourcing, and collaboration through weekly meetings.
BRENTWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH PREACHING TEAM SURVEY Agreement to Participate
The research in which you are about to participate is designed to help improve a methodological framework for the preaching team at Brentwood Baptist Church (TN).
This research is being conducted by Jay Strother for purposes of project research for a Doctorate of Ministry in leadership. In this research, you will be asked to answer the following questions to the best of your ability. Any information you provide will be held strictly confidential, and at no time will your name be reported, or your name identified with your responses. Participation in this study is totally voluntary and you are free to withdraw from the study at any time.
Instructions: Please answer this satisfaction survey on a scale of 1-10 by circling ONE number, with 1 being the LEAST satisfied and 10 the MOST satisfied.
1. Weekly Research Materials: On a scale of 1-10, how helpful to you are the following items in the research brief in accomplishing the following as you prepare for Sunday?
A. Sermon Synopsis Statement:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 B. Suggested Outline:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
C. Word Studies / Biblical Language Help:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 D. Commentary Summaries:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 E. Sermons from Other Pastors:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 F. Articles (Web articles, blogs, etc.):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 G. Illustration Ideas:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
2. Sermon Brief: On a scale of 1-10, how helpful to you is the weekly sermon brief OVERALL to your sermon preparation?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
3. In your opinion, what is the greatest STRENGTH of our weekly research material (sermon brief)?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
4. In your opinion, what is the greatest WEAKNESS of our weekly research material (sermon brief)?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
5. In your opinion, what would be the most helpful ADDITION we could make to the research materials to help your weekly sermon preparation?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
6. Weekly Preaching Team Meeting: On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied are you with the following components of the weekly preaching team meeting?
A. Time of the Meeting (3:30 PM Mon.):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 B. Length of Meeting (+/- 1 Hour):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C. Location of the Meeting (BW 2140):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 D. Prayer Time:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 E. Evaluation of Previous Sermon:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 F. Presentation by Research Assistant:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
G. Opportunity to Participate in Discussion:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 H. Opportunity to Ask Questions:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I. Opportunity to Contextualize:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
7. Weekly Preaching Team Meeting: On a scale of 1-10, how helpful to you is the weekly preaching team meeting OVERALL to your sermon preparation?
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
8. In your opinion, what is the greatest STRENGTH of our weekly preaching team meeting?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
9. In your opinion, what is the greatest WEAKNESS of our weekly preaching team meeting?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
10. In your opinion, what is the single greatest ADJUSTMENT we could make to our preaching team meeting that would be MOST helpful to you?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
11. Preaching Team Collaboration: On a scale of 1-10, how important to you is the following?
A. Annual Preaching Team Planning Retreat (3-Day):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
B. Annual Preaching Team Planning Retreat (1-Day):
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 C. Weekly Preaching Team Meetings:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 D. Workshops with Guest Speakers:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 E. Logos Bible Software Training:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
F. Availability of the Preaching Team Assistant:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
G. Opportunity to have Your Sermons Evaluated:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
12. In your opinion, what would be the SINGLE most helpful ADDITION or
ADJUSTMENT we could make to help you make your weekly sermon preparation more effective.
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
APPENDIX 2
PREACHING TEAM SURVEY RESULTS
After the preaching team survey was completed, an executive summary was created to collate the findings. This document was presented to the preaching team of Brentwood Baptist Church in January 2020 for discussion and the implementation of findings.
BRENTWOOD BAPTIST CHURCH PREACHING TEAM SURVEY RESULTS
Executive Summary January 2020
Project Context: In 1990 there were 10 multi-site churches in North America. According to Leadership Network, by early 2019 there were over 5,000 churches using the multi-site strategy to reach people utilizing more than one campus. Since 2010, we have been developing and refining a preaching team model at Brentwood Baptist Church. My larger doctoral project is to document our model for multiplication and find ways to improve our process both for our pastors and a growing number of interested churches/networks.
The purpose of this specific mixed method research was to measure the level of satisfaction of our (1) weekly research materials; and (2) the weekly preaching team meeting; and (3) the annual planning/equipping process. What I discovered is that our preaching team is very satisfied with both the research brief and our team meetings. This does not mean there is not room for improvement however, as the research identified areas of potential growth.
Sermon Research Materials: 7.75 (on a scale of 1-10)
• High/Low: The lowest score was on “suggested outline” which received a 5.92.
The highest score was for the “sermon synopsis statement” which ranked at 7.67.
• Strengths: A time savings of 2-3 hours per pastor per week. Helps identify key themes early in the week. “Jump starts” the sermon preparation process.
• Weaknesses: Repetitive use of the same or similar resources. The material could use more consistent illustration and application suggestions.
• Add: More key word studies and language helps.
Weekly Preaching Team Meeting: 8.47 (on a scale of 1-10)
• High/Low: The lowest score was on “prayer time” at 5.75 and the highest score was the “opportunity to contextualize” at 9.58.
• Strengths: High level of engagement and participation. Depth of ministry experience and diversity of perspectives (deaf, Chinese, millennial) in the room are helpful.
• Weaknesses: Timing of the meeting on a late Monday afternoon which can lead to fatigue and a lack of focus at times.
• Add: More time in prayer and peer-reviewed sermon evaluations (see below).
Annual Planning and Equipping: Growth Edges
• Timing: Refine our annual preaching team calendar to ensure that non-regular events (retreats, guest workshops, Logos training) don’t conflict with busy seasons.